Democracy in Distress (Wolfson College Isaiah Berlin Lecture 2025)
From the perspective of a life-long academic who became U.S. Ambassador to Germany, I offer reflections on my diplomatic experience and how it illuminates major threats to American democracy and our allies today. As the only survivor of a generation of German Jews, I also reflect personally on how my own family’s trajectory is a story of the destructive weight of autocracy, the redeeming power of democracy, and the urgency of this perilous moment in history. In conclusion, I offer three broad strategies—requiring civic courage, sooner not later—to reverse the potential demise of democracy and to protect the people democracy must serve to survive.
Date:
22 May 2025, 18:00
Venue:
Wolfson College, Linton Road OX2 6UD
Venue Details:
Leonard Wolfson Auditorium
Speaker:
Dr Amy Gutmann (University of Pennsylvania)
Organising department:
Wolfson College
Organiser:
Wolfson College Secretary (Wolfson College, Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
college.secretary@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Sir Tim Hitchens (University of Oxford)
Booking required?:
Not required
Booking url:
https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/event/2025-berlin-lecture/
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Luke Jackson-Ross
